DES MOINES, Iowa (Drake SID) Hampered by their lowest shooting percentage of the season and the absence of second-leading scorer Ben Simons, the Drake Bulldogs suffered a 57-39 setback to Missouri State Saturday night at the Knapp Center.

Simons (Cadillac, Mich.), diagnosed with Mononucleosis, missed the first game of his career after appearing in 87 straight games in his three seasons. Without Simons, the Missouri Valley Conference's leading three-point shooter and a 48-percent shooter from the field, the Bulldogs struggled to find a rhythm throughout the game and converted just 27.3 percent of their field-goal attempts (12-of-44).

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"We were certainly not very good on offense tonight," Drake Head Coach Mark Phelps said. "We missed Ben Simons but you can't blame our performance sorely on that."

Junior Aaron Hawley (Rogers, Ark.) replaced Simons in the starting lineup and did his best to fill the void. Hawley led Drake with 12 points, knocking down a career-high four three pointers. Redshirt-freshman Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C.) added nine points in a row to close out the game and registers as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer. The team's leading scorer, Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill.), struggled all night against the Bears' suffocating defense, only converting one field goal, but managing a team-high six rebounds.

"We were really out of sync on offense tonight," Phelps said. "We turned down shots that we should have taken and we took some shots that probably we should have not taken. If you get one field goal from two of your leading scorers it's going to be really, really tough."

After trading baskets early on the Bears went on an 11-3 run to close out the first half at 33-20. The Bulldogs continued to have trouble scoring in the second half, much in part to Missouri State's usage of a 2-3 zone, not converting a field goal until Hawley hit a three-pointer from the corner to make the game 44-26 with 11:32 to play. Stretching back to the first half, Drake went more than 11 minutes without a field goal.

The Bears extended their lead to as many as 25 before Jeffers' run to close the game. Head coach Paul Lusk's team was led in scoring by Kyle Weems' 17 points. Missouri State is now 14-11 on the year and 7-6 in MVC play, tied for third with Illinois State.

Phelps announced Simons' diagnosis after the game.

"We found out that he was ill the day after the (Indiana State) game on Wednesday and found out late Thursday that he was positive for Mono." Phelps said.

With the loss Drake falls to 13-11 on the season and 6-7, tied for fifth in the Valley. Their next game will be at Illinois State on Wednesday night in Normal, Ill.

"We've got to get together and have some good days of preparation leading into our next game on Wednesday and just fight through it," Phelps said.

NOTES:  Junior Aaron Hawley made a career-high four three-pointers (4-of-8). His previous high of three had been accomplished four times, most recently at Southern Illinois (1/18/12).  Hawley is the second Bulldog this season to make four or more three pointers in a game. Junior Ben Simons has made five in one game, and four in five other games.  Missouri State is the ninth consecutive Drake opponent held to 50 percent or lower from the field, converting 21-47 for a 44.7-percent figure. Opponents in this stretch are shooting a combined 42.8 percent (209-488).  Drake entered the game as the Missouri Valley Conference's fourth-best shooting team (.454) and shot a season-low 27.3 percent, its second consecutive season low in that category. Missouri State came in ranked fifth (.445) and shot 44.7%.  The Bulldogs' 39 points and 27.3-percent shooting figure were their lowest since scoring 39 and shooting 26.5 percent vs. St. John's at the 2010 Great Alaska Shootout (11/26/10).  The Bulldogs rank third in the MCV in steals (7.1) and recorded seven tonight.